On November 1, 2025, the Trump Administration put a pause on food stamps nationwide. SNAP benefits, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a program that provides financial assistance to low-income families to help them purchase groceries. The program electronically sends these funds through an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT card). More than 42 million Americans are on the SNAP program, which is about 12% of the population.
Why do Americans benefit from SNAP?
By household income, Americans can qualify to be SNAP recipients. Food stamp recipients received a total of about $187 per month to put towards groceries or other household food items. Many families rely on food stamps as their main source of income for food. The cancellation of SNAP benefits will send millions of Americans into a frenzy.
Why is SNAP being paused?
For short, the recent government shutdown of October 1st is the reason food stamps funding has stopped. The Trump Administration announced they had plans to halt all SNAP benefit payments for the month of November if the shutdown was not resolved. Since the program has been temporarily defunded, the USDA announced the program lacks an estimated $8 billion in monthly benefits to cover not being funded during the shutdown. As a result, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has had no choice but to freeze funds to supply SNAP benefits to Americans in need. The USDA has announced that the organization will send out partial payments, but each of these payments will arrive on a delayed schedule and will be in lesser quantities than normal.
What to do?
The USDA does advise Americans with food stamp benefits to continue to apply and hold their EBT cards even if November benefits don’t arrive. In case of emergency or dire circumstances, Americans can also contact local food banks or other community organizations for immediate food assistance. Although SNAP benefits are paused, individuals can still apply for the program. Applicants should research how to do so as each state has its own application process.
